The battle in Meng City was more thorough. The army that besieged Meng City only had one cavalry regiment, so the commander could only give up on the cavalry pursuit and completely surround them. After two days of fighting, the Huai army in Meng City, from the general to the soldiers, all escaped. In addition to the besieged Suzhou, only Huoyang and Haozhou were still in the hands of the Huai army. The situation was very advantageous for the Liberation Army, while the Huai army was almost at the end of its rope.
The news of the fall of Fuyang and Meng City soon reached Jiang Zhong. He didn't feel any danger on F's side, but he could almost see the inevitability of destruction. Liu Kunyi could only hope that the Liberation Army would only attack Suzhou, but now he was also wilting like a frosted eggplant. The two looked at the map. They didn't have many choices now. They could only rely on the few remaining cities to fight a few city battles with the Liberation Army, or fight a field battle with the Liberation Army that would decide their fate.
"How about we rescue Marshal, and then go to Henan to meet up with Ceng Guofan and the others?" Liu Kun suggested with difficulty.
Indeed, this was also a solution. But Jiang Zhong? F didn't answer immediately. If the Liberation Army's goal was only Huaibei, it would still be meaningful. But was the Liberation Army's goal really just this? The Huai army that luckily escaped from Fuyang and Meng City reported that the Liberation Army used 100,000 troops to besiege the two places. Jiang Zhong? F didn't believe this, but he thought that the Liberation Army used a total of 100,000 people to deal with Huaibei was more reliable.
In fact, the Liberation Army used four armies, a total of 72000 people, which was really a "small battle" in the eyes of the Liberation Army, which had millions of troops. At least that was what Vézé thought. After all, the Crimean War, the Austrian War, and the Franco-Prussian War in this era all used nearly a million or even a million troops. But for China, especially for the Manchu Qing, not to mention one side, when the total troops of both sides exceeded 100,000, it would be a real war to destroy a country.
Jiang Zhongyuan was loyal to Manchu Qing. Jiang Zhong? F was only loyal to his brother, Jiang Zhongyuan. In Jiang Zhong? From F's point of view, if Manchu Qing lost Huaibei, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, and Shanxi, and was driven out of the Great Wall, then Manchu Qing's fate would be over. He had no intention of being buried with the Manchurian Qing.
It's just that if I don't serve the Manchu Qing, where can I go in this vast world? The Liberation Army sent Granny Chen to Huaibei to let the Jiang family reunite. But from then on, the Jiang family could no longer return to their hometown in Hunan. There was no one left in his hometown. It was not a good choice to surrender to the Liberation Army. The Liberation Army hated the Han people who worked for the Manchu Qing very much. Few Han officials could hold on until now. Not to mention whether the Liberation Army would spare the Jiang family, think about the humiliation they would suffer after surrendering. Jiang Zhong? F felt that death was not so terrible.
Liu Kunyi didn't think so far. He said, "If we don't do it now, Vézé will probably attack us from Fuyang and Mengcheng. At that time, we will be divided into two, and even Suzhou can't save us. We … we can't ignore the marshal! "
The leader of the Huai army was Jiang Zhongyuan. If Jiang Zhongyuan died, the Huai army would collapse. Without the big tree that was Jiang Zhongyuan, even if the Huai Army escaped to Henan to join up with Ceng Guofan, this group of people could only be Ceng Guofan's subordinates now, and they would be subordinates that Ceng Guofan looked down upon. That kind of life was very terrible.
"Big brother, are you willing to leave?" Jiang Zhong, F asked Liu Kunyi.
Liu Kunyi was stunned by this question. Would Jiang Zhongyuan, who had a strong character, run away to deal with the end of destruction? Except for a very short period of time, Huaibei had been the frontline of the imperial court for more than ten years. No matter how difficult the situation was, Jiang Zhongyuan had never said the word "retreat". If they didn't retreat, they would die now. Retreat would only delay their death for a few years. Liu Kunyi couldn't see the possibility of Jiang Zhongyuan retreating.
"If we really can't do it, we'll take the marshal away even if we have to tie him up! If the marshal doesn't leave, it's meaningless for us to go north. "Liu Kunyi said with difficulty.
Jiang Zhong? F just nodded, but didn't say anything. At this time, there were a lot of things that didn't need to be said so clearly. If he said it clearly, it would only make him feel more desperate. Jiang Zhong? F asked his bodyguards to gather all the generals. After waiting for more than an hour, Jiang Zhong? F sat on the chair like a wooden sculpture without saying a word.
After all the generals arrived, Jiang Zhong? F only said one sentence, "We will send troops to rescue Suzhou tomorrow."
After that, Jiang Zhong? F saw the frightened expressions on all the generals' faces, and he immediately flew into a rage. He suddenly stood up from the chair. Jiang Zhong? F shouted, "At this time, waiting for death is still death. What will happen to you at that time? Ceng Guofan's brother, Ceng Guohua, was captured for a few years, and Vézé still killed him! Do you think Vézé will let you go? "
Being shouted at like this, the generals of the Huai army came to their senses. They quickly asked, "Are we going to reinforce Suzhou and guard the capital? Or are we going to come back after rescuing the marshal? "
Jiang Zhong? F knew that these generals didn't want to defend Suzhou at all. As long as they weren't fools, they would understand that defending Suzhou was a dead end. This wasn't the time of the Taiping Rebellion. At that time, the imperial court was still firmly in control of the north. After Huaibei was attacked, there was finally the possibility of waiting for reinforcements. At the moment, the four provinces north of Huaibei were also at war. Huaibei even had to support the north in terms of personnel and food.
"We will retreat after rescuing the marshal! But without the marshal to lead us, what do you think will happen to us? "This possibility deeply tormented Jiang Zhong. F, so he didn't hesitate to let the generals of the Huai army experience the same torture.
Sure enough, the faces of the generals of the Huai army changed greatly, and their original fear of war disappeared a lot. They said one after another, "We will definitely rescue the marshal!"
After receiving the news that the Huai army had sent troops from Huoyang, the Liberation Army in Fuyang and Mengcheng were all relieved. It was very difficult to know oneself and the enemy, because the thinking of the two sides was like heaven and earth. It was often difficult for the strong to predict the actions of the weak.
The Liberation Army was a whole. When faced with such a situation, there were only two choices. One was to withdraw from Anhui with large strides, and the other was to gather their own troops while luring the enemy to disperse their forces. If the enemy pursued them, they would naturally hit the troops in Henan and other places to eliminate the enemy's forward troops. At the same time, they would use their mobility to penetrate the enemy's rear to destroy them. This was the campaign theory of the People's Liberation Army. After Vézé inherited it, he also implemented it in the Liberation Army.
The Qing Army itself did not have a unified military system, so it naturally did not have the foundation to implement such a firm strategy and tactics. All happy families were the same, and each unhappy family was unhappy in its own way. It was difficult for the Liberation Army to predict what kind of stupid things the Qing Army would do. Now that the encirclement was about to become a reality, the Liberation Army was relieved.
The reconnaissance troops quickly discovered that the Huai army had sent out about 10,000 troops this time. What was even more amazing was that this 10,000-man army was divided into two, and they rushed toward Suzhou from the north and south. The two commanders of the Anhui Military Region almost burst out laughing. The Huai army might have thought that splitting their troops into two could distract the Liberation Army's actions and force the Liberation Army to split up as well. This was completely impossible.
"Surround and annihilate their southern route!" the two commanders who participated in the meeting said almost in unison.
The military meeting before the battle was quite democratic. All the participants could speak. After the two commanders finished speaking, no one raised any objections. Everyone was smiling. The difficulty of annihilating 5,000 people was more than half that of annihilating 10,000 people. It was at least one-third or even one-fourth easier.
One of the basic military theories of the Liberation Army was "I don't care how many routes you come from, I'll go all the way!" and "Concentrate superior forces to fight a battle of annihilation!" The Huai army had fully displayed the advantages of the Liberation Army, so it would be inexcusable if they did not treat the Huai army well.
The general leading the troops in the south was Liu Kunyi. The idea of splitting the troops into two routes was proposed by Liu Kunyi. The two routes would march faster. Once they approached Suzhou, the southern army would automatically turn into the rearguard to resist the possible attack of the Liberation Army. As for Jiang Zhong in the north? F would do its best to save Suzhou and try to break a gap as much as possible to receive the Huai army in Suzhou.
In order to come up with such an exquisite tactic, Liu Kunyi could be said to have racked his brains. A few strands of his hair had turned white. After traveling more than 50 kilometers from Huoyang, scouts suddenly came to report that the cavalry of the Liberation Army had appeared in the north. Although the troops were divided into two routes, the distance between the two routes was no more than 30 kilometers. How did the cavalry of the Liberation Army appear without a sound? Did the horses of the Liberation Army grow wings?
Not long after, the scouts of the Huai army reported that a large number of cavalry of the Liberation Army had also appeared in the rear of the Huai army. The weather was hot, and after marching for a while, Liu Kunyi was sweating profusely. The situation of the Liberation Army being half-surrounded had been formed. He suddenly felt that the number of 5,000 troops was too small. The Liberation Army was said to have 100,000 troops and horses!
"Lord Liu! What should we do? "The voice of the general next to him trembled. The advantage of the cavalry was mobility. If the Huai army turned back to attack the cavalry of the Liberation Army, it would be equivalent to rushing into the encirclement themselves. The Liberation Army was originally located to the south of the Huai army. The only direction in which the enemy had not appeared was in front. If there was the Liberation Army in front, the Huai army would be surrounded on all sides.
"Defend! Ask Jiang Zhong for help? Lord F will come to the rescue immediately! "Liu Kunyi made a painful decision. Huaibei was a plain area. If they competed with the cavalry on the plain, they would probably scatter as soon as they started running. If they stayed in place, they might be waiting for the infantry of the Liberation Army, but it was better than being chased to death by the cavalry on the plain.
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